Horseplay, directed by Simon Bennett at the Maidment Theatre until 29 May

http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2010/may/auckland-cbd/the-new-zealand-post-season-of-horseplay#none

You’ll forgive me if I start with a dirty old kiwi cliché; even more so if you’ve already seen the play: theatre is a game of two halves.

At halftime, while we stood on the sideline sucking on our orange segments (OK, eating our icecreams), things weren’t going well for the home team. Of the four actors (Tim Balme, John Leigh, Elizabeth McRae, Toni Potter) three had fumbled the ball at least once. Despite some bursts of brilliance, Balme seemed to be struggling to play his own game.

But by the time the full time whistle went it was a happy and satisfied crowd that filed out of the Maidment and, I’m guessing, a pretty contented team in the dressing room.

Horseplay tells the story of an imagined meeting between James K Baxter and Ron Morrison in Hawera, shortly before both writers died. It’s billed as a verbal fistfight; the 1970s equivalent of a rap battle, as the poet and the novelist attempt to literally outwit each other in a series of literary skirmishes.

And in the second act, that’s exactly what happened. Balme, as Baxter, settled into the role and seemed to find a more consistent voice. (Sam Hunt hardly appeared at all.) John Leigh, freed from the almost endless stream of Kiwi cliché that made up his first act dialogue, gave the performance of his life (excluding, naturally, his Elections “Orange Guy” voiceover work) in his “Ode to Hawera”. Elizabeth McRae and Toni Potter felt closer to caricature than character for me (Kiwi dowager and provincial Hotlips Houlihan respectively) , but maybe that’s how they were written and how they were meant to be performed. This was always going to be Balme and Leigh’s play.

To return to the sporting metaphor I started with (I am writing this after a bleak hour on the sideline at kids’ soccer), player of the day was an easy call. Tim Balme, especially in the first half, felt like an ordinary guy working hard at playing a nutter. John Leigh was more believable as a nutter trying hard to be ordinary. Less of a stretch for John, possibly, but his performance carried it on the day. John, your certificate and McDonald’s cheeseburger voucher are in the mail.

Horseplay runs for another three weeks. Give it a few days to settle in (the few theatre peeps I know say New Zealand plays almost never get enough time to rehearse as much as they’d like, and this could explain some of the first act lumpiness) then book yourself some tickets and bowl along.

Footnote: who the fuck am I to review this play?

We actually had a discussion along these lines at intermission. There’s been some debate recently around “unqualified and ignorant” punters passing judgment on theatre, films, TV and so on. I’m lucky if I go to three or four plays a year. I’ve seen Came a Hot Friday but never read the book (or The Scarecrow). I’ve probably only read a couple of dozen James K Baxter poems. Basically, I’m nothing like the average theatre critic but everything like the average theatre punter. I think that qualifies me to have an opinion; whether you pay attention to it or not is up to you.